Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Chrysanthemumxc3x97morifolium cultivar Joker. 
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Chrysanthemumxc3x97morifolium and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Jokerxe2x80x99.
The new Chrysanthemum is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Salinas, Calif. and Alva, Fla. The objective of the breeding program is to create new cut Chrysanthemum cultivars having inflorescences with desirable colors and good form and substance.
The new Chrysanthemum originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in March, 1998, in Salinas, Calif., of the Chrysanthemumxc3x97morifolium cultivar Stroika, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary Chrysanthemum seedling selection identified as K036, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent.
The cultivar Joker was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla., in March, 1999. The selection of this plant was based on its desirable inflorescence color and good form and substance.
Asexual reproduction of the new Chrysanthemum by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla. since June, 1999, has shown that the unique features of this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
Plants of the cultivar Joker have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Jokerxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Jokerxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Upright cut Chrysanthemum that is usually grown as a natural spray.
2. Freely flowering habit, about eight inflorescences per flowering stem.
3. Daisy-type inflorescences that are about 7.1 cm in diameter.
4. Attractive bright red-colored ray florets that resist fading and light green to bright yellow-colored disc florets.
5. Response time about 56 days.
6. Dark green foliage.
7. Strong peduncles.
8. Good postproduction longevity with inflorescences and foliage maintaining good substance and color for about 14 to 18 days in an interior environment.
Plants of the new Chrysanthemum are most similar to plants of the female parent, the cultivar Stroika. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Alva, Fla., plants of the new Chrysanthemum differed from plants of the cultivar Stroika in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum were about 10 cm taller than plants of the cultivar Stroika.
2. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum flowered about two to three days earlier than plants of the cultivar Stroika.
3. Ray florets of plants of the new Chrysanthemum were brighter and lighter red in color than ray florets of plants of the cultivar Stroika.
Plants of the new Chrysanthemum can be compared to plants of the male parent selection. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Alva, Fla., plants of the new Chrysanthemum differed from plants of the male parent selection primarily in ray floret coloration as ray florets of the male parent were orange bronze in color.